The Portland daily press., 1887-06-18
PERSONAL AND PECULIAR.

Lieutenant-General Sheridan will spend
the latter part of June and nearly all July
in Chicago. He is the president of the Jock
ey Club there, and seldom fails to attend the
races, officiating nearly every day on the
judges stand.
Representative Patrick Collins of the
Fourth Massachusetts district, has moved
from South Boston to Dorchester This in
dictates that he is in earnest when he saws he
does not wish to be reelected to Congress,
as his new home is in Leopold Morse's dis
trict.
The prohibition fight at San Antonio, Tex.
is taking on graphic proportions. The pro-
hibitionists. having been refused permission
by Mayor Callaghan to hold meeting in a
public square, resorted to lot owned by the
general government. The mayor then raid
ed the meeting, and, with the aid of the po-
lice, broke the gathering up. He is now
standing trial before United States CON-
missioner for conspiracy.
Browning grown oranges in the West
India and Mexico, so that they shall pass
muster as real Florida fruit, is the device of
an enterprising Yankee. The process con-
sists of putting the fruit into large sieve
and passing it over a hot fire until the
oranges contained therein are sufficiently
scorched, technically drowned" to give
them the true Florida tinge, which is pecu-
liar to that delicious orange. The drowned
fruit is mostly shipped North and West.
Some of the trees of Arkansas have pecu-
liar properties. The fruit and roots of the
buckeye are used by Indians on their fishing
excursions. They put the fruit and roots in
a bag, which they drag through the water.
In an hour or so the fish rise to the surface
dead. Cattle die after eating of the fruit or
leaves Man eats the fruit of the pawpaw,
but the hogs won't Ropes and mats are
made of its bark. The fruit and bark of the
Day Tree are supposed to be cure for rheu-
matism and intermittent fever.
A correspondent who visited Mr.. Bancroft
the other day found him in his library sur
rounded by eight type-writers, clicking away
as fast as their fingers could go. Mr.. Ban
croft explained that he was having copied
the papers which he had borrowed from the
widow of the late President Polk on his re-
cent trip to Nashville. He will write his
tory of the Polk administration, during
which he was Secretary of the Navy. He
has not reached that point in his history of
the United States, but for personal reasons
and particularly because he thinks Polk has
not had Jnstice done him by other historians.
he will pay particular attention to that era.
The proposed Alabama State University
for the higher education of the negro will
probably be located at Montgomery. Says
the Advertiser of that city: "The colored
people OF Montgomery have shown more
than commendable disposition to help them
selves They have raised subscription of
$4,000, which, in proportion to their means,
is more liberal than the whites would be for
similar purpose. They wisely determined
to help themselves. before asking help from
the whites. Now that they have done so,
their white friends ought to make liberal
answer to their appeal for help.
1t was expected that the statue of Gridley,
the Californian, who did so much for the
Sanitary Commission Fund in the days of
the war, would be ready tc dedicate on Dec
Grafton Day, but it failed to arrive. Gridley
gained a national reputation by his eccentric
scheme OF carrying sack of flour from town
to town and selling it at auction for the ben
eft of the Sanitary Fund. He was a good
speaker, and he frequently wrought his aU-
dience up to such pitch Of patriotism that
the historical sack of flour brought several
thousand dollars. In all he contributed over
100000 to the fund, and therefore well de-
serves monument.